A more than yearlong investigation into soil stockpiled above soccer fields at Ladera Linda Park in Rancho Palos Verdes has concluded there was no asbestos in the dirt and that it posed no health risks to nearby residents.
The multiagency investigation was launched in April 2016 by the Department of Toxic Substance Control after community members raised concerns that the dirt, which had been trucked in from a Torrance construction site in 2015, was contaminated. A new report, however, says there is no health threat from the soil, the department said Tuesday.
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The conclusion supports what officials at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District have long insisted — that the dirt is safe and poses no threat to residents of the Ladera Linda neighborhood or children using soccer fields at the park.
Report conclusion
According to the report, none of the soil samples taken from the stockpiled dirt contained asbestos. Six pieces of debris in the roughly 1,100 cubic yards of dirt did contain asbestos, but none of it was friable, according to the report. Only friable asbestos, which can become airborne and be inhaled by humans, is considered a hazardous substance by the DTSC, according to the agency.
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The conclusion supports an earlier report by Leymaster Environmental Consulting of Long Beach that found the dirt was safe. That investigation found in 2015 that the soil contained the pesticide DDT, but in amounts deemed acceptable according to the California Human Health Screening Levels.
In the months after the investigation began, the uppermost soccer fields were closed and a fence with warning signs was placed around the area along Forrestal Drive. It’s not clear yet when the fields will reopen.
Community consternation
The investigation pitted the school district, local AYSO soccer league and community members against each other. Several local residents contended the dirt posed serious health risks to people living near the park and young children who used the nearby soccer fields and accused the district of a lack of transparency in handling the issue.
PVPUSD Superintendent Don Austin repeatedly called the investigation an example of government overreach by the DTSC and denounced local residents who criticized the district’s handling of the soil.
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A separate criminal investigation is underway into the situation surrounding the soil, but a spokesman from the District Attorney’s Office was unavailable Tuesday to comment on whether that investigation will be affected by the new DTSC report.
Austin and representatives from the agency did not return requests for comment Tuesday.
A public comment period on the report will run from Thursday through Dec. 8. A community meeting to discuss the report is scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 16 at Point Vicente Interpretive Center, 31501 Palos Verdes Drive West.
